City of Dreams follows Jesús, a young farmer in rural Mexico who dreams of playing for Club Puebla, his local soccer team. With the promise of training at a soccer camp in Los Angeles, Jesús is convinced by his father to leave home, but he soon discovers that he's been sold to a sweatshop run out of a decrepit mansion in downtown Los Angeles. Jesús is then subjected to the grueling 18-hour work schedule dictated by El Jefe, a boss who promises freedom for those who complete their quotas, and whose brutality is motivated by his own desperation to provide for his family back in Mexico. Despite all, Jesús finds solace in Elena, a girl who was similarly betrayed and sent to America under the guise of attending a fashion school. When Elena goes missing and another co-worker, Carlitos, is severely beaten for confronting El Jefe, Jesús realizes his only way out is a daring escape.
